NextEra Energy, which has been eyeing the reopening of its Duane Arnold nuclear power plant near Palo, is conducting engineering studies and speaking with federal regulators about the possible restart, company executives say.

Growing power demand from AI data centers and the electrification of buildings and transportation has propelled the country’s electric utility industry and led to unprecedented power contracts.

NextEra is assessing the Duane Arnold plant, which was Iowa’s only nuclear power station until its 2020 shutdown, and speaking with regulators with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and local groups, CEO John Ketchum said on a company earnings call Wednesday.

“We’re very interested in recommissioning the plant,” said Ketchum, adding that the site northwest of Cedar Rapids uses a boiling water reactor, which can be simpler than other systems to revive.

“That gives us optimism of being able to do this at an attractive price and without as much risk,” he said.

After struggling for decades with poor economics and safety concerns that led 13 reactors to shut since 2012, the nuclear industry is experiencing a revival driven by a sudden turnaround in electricity demand.

Two other shuttered U.S. nuclear power plants, including Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, site of the worst nuclear accident in the nation’s history, are in the process of being restarted. If the plants are resurrected, they will represent the first relaunches of retired reactors.

The longer a nuclear plant is shut, the higher the chances that corrosion and other issues that could prevent a restart, and analysts broadly project that only a few of the country’s mothballed nuclear sites could be relaunched.

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“We think NextEra’s Duane Arnold nuclear plant is among those in the U.S. that is most likely to restart given it closed fairly recently,” said Mike Doyle, senior equity analyst for utilities at Edward Jones, citing the plant’s August 2020 closure.

Still, NextEra said it was focused on growing its renewable energy business. Nuclear power uses uranium to produce carbon-free electricity and is not renewable like wind and solar power.

NextEra, which has the world’s largest renewables business and is one of the biggest U.S. regulated electric utilities, has entered into “incremental framework agreements” to develop 10.3 gigawatts of renewable energy and storage.

Renewable energy still core of NextEra’s business

The company’s third-quarter profit beat Wall Street estimates, helped by strength in its renewables unit. The S&P index tracking utilities .jumped 18.4% in the third quarter, compared to a 5.5% rise in the S&P 50.

NextEra’s renewables arm, NextEra Energy Resources, projected a backlog of 24 gigawatts in the third quarter, up from nearly 22.6 in the second quarter.

The company’s regulated utilities business, Florida Power & Light, reported net income of $1.29 billion compared with $1.18 billion a year earlier.

NextEra’s overall quarterly revenue of $7.57 billion, however, missed estimates of around $8.10 billion, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by LSEG.

The company, which is based in Florida, maintained its 2024 adjusted earnings-per-share forecast. Executives said they expect EPS in 2025 to be in a range of $3.45 to $3.70.

On an adjusted basis, NextEra earned $1.03 per share in the quarter, compared with an estimate of 98 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.

NextEra Energy Partners, a unit of the company created to acquire, manage and own contracted energy projects, said it would repower an additional 225 megawatts of wind facilities, bringing the total backlog of wind repowerings to around 1.6 gigawatts through 2026. Repowering upgrades existing wind farms to produce more power from the sites.

However, the unit reported a loss of $40 million due to higher interest payments and a loss on some continuing operations, compared to year-ago net income of $53 million. Its shares were down 11.5% in early morning trade.